LES CARRIERES DE PLAINE-CLEURIE

The quarries of Plaine-Cleurie bear witness to a granite industry that flourished in the Vosges from 1870 to the 1930s. At its peak, the site employed 300 workers who made paving stones and curbs, mostly for the streets of Paris. The Vosges, cradle of granite exploitation While the use of granite by marcaires is ancient (the peasants used to plow their fields and build low walls around their crops), it is only after the war of 1870 that the French granite industry started Several thousands of workers were employed in the quarries, cutting, sawing and polishing. In the 19th century, 75% of Parisian paving stones came from the Vosges The numerous varieties of Vosges rocks were used for the construction of basins and columns for the castle of Versailles or the Opera of Paris. Granite or granite? The term "granite" is used in geology to define the raw magmatic rock. The term "granite" indicates the rocks worked by man. conservatoire des Sites Lorrains